One contested race in May primary

March 13, 2002|BY STACEY DANZUSO

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - None of Franklin County's state representatives will face an opponent in the May primary.

The deadline to file to run for the May 21 primary election was 5 p.m. Tuesday, and according to an unofficial list from the Bureau of Commissions, Elections and Legislation, the local legislators are unchallenged.

Only U.S. Rep. Bud Shuster, R-Pa., has any competition, and that is from Republican David Bahr from Chambersburg and Republican David Keller from Hamilton Township, Pa.

John R. Henry, whose address was unavailable, was the only Democrat to file.

Shuster won a special election last May, several months after his father, Bud Shuster, announced his retirement from the 9th District seat he was elected to 15 times.

Advertisement

The 9th District covers 14 counties in central Pennsylvania, including Franklin and Fulton.

At the state level, current Reps. Jeffrey Coy, D-89, Patrick Fleagle, R-90, and Allan Egolf, R-86, will run unopposed in the primary.

Coy will face Republican Chris Sheffield, an attorney, in the November general election.

Sheffield, who officially announced his candidacy Monday, is also unopposed in the Republican primary.

Coy has represented the 89th District, which includes the boroughs of Chambersburg, Orrstown and Shippensburg, and the townships of Greene, Letterkenny, Lurgan, Southampton and parts of Guilford in Franklin County, for 20 years. His district also includes part of Cumberland County.

Fleagle is seeking his eighth term representing southern Franklin County, including the boroughs of Mercersburg, Greencastle and Waynesboro, and the townships of Warren, Antrim, Washington and portions of Peters, Quincy, Hamilton and Guilford.

Egolf has represented northwestern Franklin County for 10 years and is running for his sixth term.

His district includes the townships of Fannett, Metal, St. Thomas, and parts of Hamilton and Peters. He also represents parts of Cumberland and Perry counties.

Neither Fleagle nor Egolf will face a challenger in the Nov. 5 general election.

The last day for candidates to withdraw from the race is March 27, and the last day to register to vote in the primary is April 22.